


remis

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post Jiaying, Post-Season/Series 02, Prompt Fic, Road Trips, skoulsonfest2k15redux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 03:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4375712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye. Coulson. Europe. Trains. Board games.</p>
            </blockquote>





	remis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skyepilot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/gifts).



> Another one for the skoulsonfest2k15 redux (day 2). I tried to combine several prompts, hope it didn't turn out too topsy-turvy. :)
> 
> Prompts:  
> [COMPROMISED]; [BOARD GAMES]; [LONG DISTANCE PHONE CALLS]
> 
> For the wonderful Skyepilot.
> 
> Hope you like it!  
> Sorry about the silly chess reference.

**remis** , noun. _Expression in chess that denotes a situation in which neither of the opponents has a possibility to emerge as the only winner. All possible moves are just a prolongation of the situation and can’t lead to change. In this case, the points are split up between both parties, so the opponents share half a win. Often, this situation is a result of both players losing all figures during the game, except for their king. This specific constellation would mean that all possible moves would result in the two remaining figures on the board circling around each other, maintaining the safe distance of one square._

  


It’s been six months now that they’ve been carrying out undercover missions all over the Europe, just the two of them. Officially, it’s for S.H.I.E.L.D. recruitment, and they _are,_ of course, recruiting the occasional neuroscientist and/or communications expert, but most of it is about trying to build up a secret Inhumans network spread across the continent. They’ve discussed where to start over weeks, and Coulson had really strong arguments for starting out in the States, but with Skye mentioning Paris every day, their first destination is France. Not only is she picking dinner menus every evening, she also insisted on living in a small flat up in Montmartre. He’s not really objecting; he figures comfort is fine as long as they’re getting their job done. They’ve been doing really well, actually. Most of the time, he’s just watching her chat with one contact or another in street cafés, flaunting a weirdly cute accent as she’s chattering in French. In the evening, she usually jokes about how that’s actually why people feel tempted to join.  
  
When, finally, they are done in Paris (and Coulson _knows_ she purposely never arranged more than one meeting a day), their mission encompasses a lot of train rides – to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria. Europe’s not _that_ huge, and trains are just much more budget-friendly. Marseille is the first and the last time Skye suggests a card game, with Coulson suddenly getting all cranky and stiffened up because of his left arm. Before they’re getting on the train to Zurich, she runs to a newspaper stand to pick up a low-quality magnet board for all your standard two-person games. A whole era of hours and hours of pushing around little coloured magnets begins. Coulson is surprised how he’s not even bored yet when they arrive in Sofia. He’s developed quite a spirit for competition which is new to him. Skye just keeps smiling when he wins, telling him she needs an immediate _revanche_ .  
  
Skye enjoys this train thing they have going. Having spent years on the road and a sum of more than two months’ worth of road trips with Coulson, this is a new nuance to the whole idea of moving from place to place. Especially since they’re playing all the games Skye hasn’t touched even once since the orphanage (okay, there had been the occasional chess battle with Miles, but that was like _ages_ ago).  
  
There’s more than one, wait, more than maybe twenty-five occasions when the train shakes a little and their fingers touch. She remembers how hard it was to suppress a flinch the first time it happened. Coulson’s been sort of _fragile_ lately and she doesn’t want him to think he’s ever given her a reason to feel uncomfortable. After they’ve passed Munich, though, she discovers it’s not really making her feel _weird_ at all – just shy. That’s a completely different thing – just because she hasn’t really figured out how to feel about their fingers accidentally touching across the board, it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen again. So, until further notice, she decides to just smile at him every single time it happens.  
  
***  
  
After they’ve met with a quirky Bulgarian redhead who agreed to join the team in mid-November, Skye is supposed to fly to Moscow to tie up loose ends with a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (collecting any information he may still have on a Siberian counter-terrorist network), recruit a marine biologist who teaches at university and meet up with four or five Russia-based Inhumans, and Coulson’s supposed to return to the Playground.  
  
She does her job in Moscow remarkably well, even though that’s exactly what Coulson expected (so May tells him, even though she doesn’t know about the Inhumans). Still, he’s kind of worried about her – she doesn’t know even ten words in Russian, and it’s her first mission alone. It’s not just around the corner, either. Hunter likes to make fun of him for calling her every few days just to check in. Of course, he’s right – Skye’s not a little girl, she’s _your average Inhuman hacker superhero_ , as Hunter puts it. Weirdly enough, Skye doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest.  
  
After two months, Skye submits her coded mission report to the S.H.I.E.L.D. network. During their last long-distance phone call, she tells Coulson there’s just one more thing she needs to do. She can almost hear him tense up over the phone, and she has to admit she kind of enjoys having him squirm on her hook. His answers become really short and his tone too objective and neutral, too S.H.I.E.L.D.-trained to sound genuine.  
  
“Coulson, what’s the matter?,” she smiles into her prepaid mobile phone.  
He almost grunts. “Nothing, it’s just – I worry. You’ve been away long enough.”  
“I know, it’s just that one thing. I’ll be back at the Playground in a few days.”  
“I just miss our board games.”  
She chuckles. “Me too.”  
“ _Skye_.”  
It kind of dawns on her then.  
“You sound … emotionally compromised.”  
There is quite a bit of silence on the other end of the line before he replies.  
“Why do you have to stay any longer?”  
He can hear her smile again. “It’s kind of silly. Tasha wants me to help her pick a white dress.”  
“ _Tasha_.”  
“Yeah, you know,” she answers playfully, “red-headed badass Russian S.H.I.E.L.D. spy lady? Not that she really needs fashion advice. I guess it’s just for the company.”  
Coulson exhales really loudly.  
“Like I said,” she chimes. “Emotionally compromised.”  
“… When are you going to be back?”  
“Tuesday night. You _could_ pick me up at eight-thirty if you want. You could _also_ make a table reservation somewhere if you want. In case you feel up to birthday dinner.”  
“ _Skye_ .”  
“I know, I know. I’m paying. You pick.”  
“I wasn’t worrying about – it’s just that – _Christ_ , forget it. Just come back already.”  
“I missed you too.”  
“Safe trip. Don’t miss the plane.” This time, it’s her who can hear him smile over the phone. He hears her chuckle before hanging up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! :)


End file.
